If Being Relentless Is Right, I Want To Be Wrong

I recently had the privilege to be at the second stop of Brian McLaren’s book tour for Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road? in Washington, DC. One of the first things that Brian shared in his discussion is this: “Simply put, we Christians already know how to do two things very well. First, some of us know how to have a strong Christian identity that responds negatively toward other religions. The stronger our Christian commitment, the stronger our aversion or opposition to other religions...Alternatively, others of us know how to have a more positive, accepting response to other religions. We never proselytize. We always show respect for other religions and their adherents. We always minimize differences and maximizes commonalities. But we typically achieve coexistence by weakening our Christian identity.”  This observation really resonates with me because I have spent time in both of these paradigms.  Early in my faith I was part of the former and today I am more or less in the latter.  That being said, I am trying to move into a third paradigm which is strong, yet benevolent.

Reading John Bevere’s Relentless was frustrating and challenging for me because he falls into the strong/hostile (first) paradigm that Brian mentions.  Frankly, while I agree that both paradigms that Brian mentions (strong/hostile and weak/benevolent) are in need of revision, it is only natural for me to assume that the paradigm that I exist in is the better one, just as I am sure that Bevere believes his is the better one.  Therefore, it is in this context that I write this review.  However, my hope is that I can be strong in my criticism, while at the same time be benevolent!

I strongly disagree with most of what is presented in this book.  However, the substance in chapters three and four are worth reading in my opinion.  In chapter three Bevere presents a decent argument that grace is more than just a free gift or remittance for our sins but is the power behind our ability to do Christ-like things (pg. 33).

In chapter  four Bevere clarifies an earlier statement where he says, “[we are to] reign as kings in life. You and I as God’s children, are to rule as kings and queens” (pg. 14) with “God expects us to walk as Jesus did.  So let’s further ask, How else did Jesus walk?

“It’s clear from the Gospels that Jesus met the needs of mankind.  He healed the sick, cleansed the diseased, delivered people from bondage, opened blind eyes and deaf ears, made the mute speak and the crippled walk, multiplied food to feed the hungry and even raised the dead.  Then he charged us, ‘As the Father sent Me, I also send you’” (pg. 40). 

Reading chapters three and four got me excited about the rest of the book.  However, after finishing the book, I really wish it would have just ended at chapter 4.  As I move forward I want to present some quotes from the book and share my thoughts and opinions regarding how and why I disagree with them.

 “For example, in the Lord’s Prayer Jesus intstructs us to pray, ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ (Luke 11:2).  He is literally saying, ‘Our Father in heaven, You are God almighty.  Your supreme powerful rule come.  Your will be done on earth just as it is in heaven.’ But a problem arises because most people hearing these words think futuristically, when in fact God’s kingdom has already come!  It has not yet come physically, as Isaiah prophesied, for that is when Jesus will rule forever and ever and Satan’s influence will be gone for good.  Rather, the kingdom of God has already come spiritually.” (pg. 66).

I like that Bevere points out that God’s kingdom has arrived with Jesus, but I am not sure that I agree that it is only spiritual and not physical.  We are the hands and feet of Christ and I believe we are beset with the challenge of bringing the physical kingdom of God here on earth—I believe that Jesus came to demonstrate how we should do this.  Moreover, Jesus often states in the Gospels that “the kingdom of heaven is here.”  If Jesus was both the Son of God and human how can we say that the physical kingdom of God has not arrived?

“’Blessed are the poor,’ He says, ‘for yours is God’s supreme powerful rule’ (Luke 6:20).

“He is not identifying the financially poor; He is blessing those who depend on God’s grace.” (pg. 67). 

Interestingly, Bevere spends a lot of time in his book on Greek words, yet spends no time picking apart the word “poor” to back his contention here.  I contend that the financially poor are exactly who Jesus is identifying here!  Jesus actions support this because the financially poor are who he spends most of his time with very often blessing them with food and healing.

 “As we look at the words suffer with him, we must ask, How did Jesus suffer?  This is where many get confused, for there are two types of suffering.  One is for righteousness’ sake and the other is for the world’s sake.”  (pg. 74).

Sure, I can agree with this.  However, Bevere goes on to use three-miracle-healings to attempt to support his argument, which I really do not agree with (pg. 74-79).  Sure, these healings did cheat death and I am sure that these three people experienced suffering prior to being healed, but these situations are really biological occurrences that none of these people chose.  I believe suffering for righteousness sake requires an intentional decision on our part.  Paul, speaking his mind knowing that it would probably land him in jail is a great example of this.  Dr. Martin Luther King protesting the injustices against African Americans in the sixties and going to jail is a great example of this.  Jesus allowing himself to be arrested, brought before Pilate and executed on a cross is the ultimate example what it means to suffer for righteousness!

“A soldier going to war is well aware of whom he is fighting.  And if he’s wise, he’ll also know his enemy’s tactics.  There’s never a remote question in the warrior’s mind as to who is enemy is.”  (pg. 89).

This is the second book in a row that I have received free from Waterbrook Multnomah for review purposes that seems to focus more on war terminology rather than love which is very disconcerting for this follower of Christ!

Here is another example of war terminology being used: “Imagine a nation sending its military into war without bullets, guns, cannons, bombs, tanks, planes or even knives.  How would that nation fare in warfare?  Would they conquer? Would they contend? Would they even survive?  My guess is, a good number would quickly be killed and the rest taken as prisoners of war.

“It’s a guess because, to my knowledge, such a ludicrous scenario has never occurred.” (pg. 101).

MLK Jr. went to war without weapons and succeeded and so did Ghandi.  And if those are not obvious enough show me in the New Testament where Jesus uses a weapon of war that Bevere mentions here.  Yet, Jesus was victorious!

“We live in a world that is completely contrary and even hostile to the kingdom of God.”  (pg. 102).

This is strictly a matter of opinion.  I know quite a few atheists that are totally about peace.  In fact, they are turned off from what I believe to be the true Kingdom of God, because they see its antithesis in the hostile actions of its followers. In other words, Christians are just as often found displaying hostility, when they are called to be inclusive and benevolent toward the other! I believe that Carl Sandburg was spot on when asked, “What is the dirties word in the English language?” and answered, “Exclusive.” Jesus, commands us to love not just our neighbor, but our enemies, and frankly there is not love in hostility!

“Every child of God is at war.   If we are not, then we’re actually of this world and deceived in our thinking that we belong to God.”  (pg. 117).

Yes!  Because Jesus constantly talks about war—it is the entire theme of the Gospels! (note: I am being sarcastic).

“Humility characterized David’s life, and we all know that this great leader was far from being weak, wimpy, or spineless.  He’s the one who wrote, ‘The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.  What can man do to me?’ (Psalm 118:6).” (pg. 128).

David seems to be so many people’s favorite character from the Old Testament and frankly I just do not get it!  He committed adultery with Bathsheeba and at the same time sent her husband to the front lines (murdering him in essence) to cover it up.  Yet, writers want to point out the story of Goliath.  Another David story that is very infrequently told is 1 Chronicles 28:3 which reads: “You shall not build a house for My name, because you have been a man of war and have shed blood.”  Maybe, just maybe God is not the war monger that so many make him out to be.

“Suppose a wicked military force has invaded your country and held it captive for years.  To bring true liberation, you must not only confront the enemy in direct battle, but you must also eliminate the strongholds they’ve established.”  (pg. 179).

How would Jesus handle this? Interestingly, it seems that he did with the evil empire of Rome, yet Jesus did not fight fire with fire but with metaphorical water that Jesus would call love and self-sacrifice!

 “It is God’s will for you to prosper in every area of life, even financially.”  (pg. 99).

I just cannot agree with this—I really believe that if this were the case somewhere in the Beatitudes Jesus would have said, “Blessed are those who are prosperous financially,” yet it says exactly the opposite, “Blessed are the poor.”  Moreover, we find that Jesus states, “To whom much is given, much is required.” (Luke 12:48).

“Quitting takes on different forms.  Most often it’s rooted in compromise—an antonym to relentless.”  (pg. 229).

I believe that compromise can often be a great path to reconciliation and conflict resolution.  This must mean that relentlessness can be a path to conflict escalation and a blockade to reconciliation—both things that Jesus came to break down.  I am not saying that we should not be relentless, but that we must be cautious in our approach to it and Bevere neglects to mention this.

“Sadly, I have witnessed our spiritual (scriptural) foundations shifting to accommodate the trends and times.  It’s gotten so out of control that a minister of a large church can stand before his congregation, declare he’s a homosexual, and receive a standing ovation.  Another can declare it’s no longer God’s will to heal, and his people will believe him instead of God’s Word.  Another can author a book declaring that all humanity is going to eventually enter heaven—that no person will burn in eternal fire—and he remains a ‘rock star’ in Christendom.  Another can challenge the virgin birth and the return of Jesus Christ and still be celebrated as a leader of the Christian faith.  More and more sad scenarios such as these play out among ‘Christians’ each day.” (pg. 233).

It appears that Bevere wants to live in the comfort of the early 20^th century paradigm of Christianity.  I contend that it is just too uncomfortable for him to walk through different paradigms and perhaps face the fact that his world view may not be the correct one.  There is no doubt that Bevere’s and my worldviews with respect to what it means to be a follower of Christ are diametrical on at least several levels.  And it is scary for me to think that he may be right, which he may be.  However, I believe he is way off on what it means to be a follower of Christ with much of what he presents in his book. 

When Bevere mentions that the scriptural foundations are shifting I would say that he is correct.  However, I disagree with his assessment that this is a sad turn.  Phyllis Tickle, in her book The Great Emergence makes a very convincing argument that the church goes through these shifts every 500 years, they are good for growth, and that we are presently experiencing one of these shifts. 

Bevere also uses the Barna Group’s data to support his argument about what he believes is part of the problem with Christianity moving away from its twentieth century model:

“Some recent surveys may help us understand these ludicrous shifts.  According to one national survey, only 46 percent of ‘born-again Christians’ believe in absolute moral truth.  More than50 percent of ‘evangelical Christians’ believe people can attain heaven through avenues other than the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  Only 40 percent of ‘born-again Christians’ believe Satan is a real force.” (pg. 233).

This same organization has also done research on how non-Christians view Christians.  Sadly, here are some of those results:

“Non-Christians aged 16-29 years old were asked, “What is your current perception of Christianity?

• 91% said antihomosexual
• 87% said judgmental
• 85% said hypocritical
• 78% said old-fashioned
• 75% said too involved in politics
• 72% said out of touch with reality
• 70% said insensitive to others”

We are in a sad state as followers of Christ and frankly Bevere does not present much in his book to change this.  As followers of Christ those percentages above should match with loving, forgiving, merciful, peaceful, poor in spirit, meek, giving.  They should also force us to take good, long look in the mirror!  However, if one reads Bevere’s book (many have—he has some bestsellers) and agrees with most of what they are reading it is not difficult to see why those non-Christians polled by the Barna Group answered the way that they did.

I certainly would not recommend this book to anyone and I continue to be frustrated by the exclusionary stance that so many Christians take with their faith.  “We all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God.”  This puts us all in the same proverbial boat and the body of Christ needs to recognize this and be relentless in our focus on love and inclusiveness.

My Strength/Weakness: Thirst For Knowledge

My friend Brett from the Simple Way has a great blog that you should check out!  Recently, he started a series on taking a look at one’s strengths and seeing if there is also a potential weakness in it.  Being the embracer of paradox that I am becoming I could not overlook this opportunity to participate.

Martin Luther King Jr. penned the following words from the Birmingham jail, “I must confess that I am not afraid of the word ‘tension.’ I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth.”

I recently turned 42 and have been following my savior and mentor, Jesus, for more than half of my life. This relationship started out with things pretty black and white in my mind. However, the more I get to know this Jesus, the more I honestly believe that he is into paradox. I am not sure how I missed his quote, “The first shall be last and the last shall be first” for so long! However, this quote and my friend Brett’s idea behind a strength having the potential for being a weakness both fall into paradox which creates the tension that MLK Jr. so aptly described from his jail cell. The list of things I see as black and white these days is dwindling rapidly as I am embracing the narrative of necessary tension.

So what is my strength that is also my weakness—or what is one of my strengths that is also one of my weaknesses? I almost actually typed out knowledge as my strength—but that would be very far from the truth! However, I do have a deep drive for obtaining knowledge. I want to know a lot about a lot so that I can make a deep impact for Christ. I believe that the more I learn about a problem the better equipped I will be able to solve it. There is certainly biblical backing for this. Mark 12: 30 says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” However, if I am not careful with this strength it can so easily distract me from the relational aspect of what it means to be a follower of Christ. I can very easily bury myself in books and neglect just about every relationship I have. Moreover, it leads to dependence on me rather than God—if I know enough about this issue, I can resolve it and completely leave God out of the equation.  This attitude can quickly lead to pride. Finally, knowing this is one of my strengths makes me want to focus on it because it is easy for me. And this takes me away from the areas of conflict in my life, which involves me stepping out of my introverted cocoon and entering the “nonviolent tension which is necessary” for me to grow. Jesus was most often about building relationships, and while I believe that having knowledge is important I believe it is paramount to be in relationship and community!

CREATING PLOWSHARES AND PRUNING HOOKS

A year and a week ago today my wife and I did something a little unique for my birthday.  We drove up to Philadelphia to watch a variety show called Jesus Bombs and Ice Cream.  The premise of this show organized by Shane Claiborne and his friend Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, was what would the world be like if there were fewer bombs and more ice cream?  Well, perhaps there would be some bigger waist lines. However, there would also be more smiles and more peace—seems like a really good trade off to me.

Anyway, one of the things that I vividly remember from that birthday event was an artistic welder who took an AK-47 and turned it into a shovel and a pitchfork.  This weekend I was pleasantly reminded of watching this artist work.  My wife and I organized a whitewater rafting and camping trip with some of the folks that we went to Egypt with this spring. We were enjoying our breakfast Sunday morning when I gave two of the bat-houses that the owners of the property have installed a closer look.  These bat houses were made from 20mm ammo cans.  It instantly made me think of seeing the AK-47 transformed into the shovel and pitchfork a little more than a year earlier. 

 

My friend Brett "FISH" Anderson showing off the transformed AK-47.



“He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples.  They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.  Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4 and Micah 4:3). Witnessing both the bat houses and the AK-47 was such a great reminder that God calls us to be creative and that there are, in fact, tangible ways of seeing scripture that we so often associate with metaphor actually become reality! 



These ammo cans are no longer products of war but are now homes for mosquito consuming bats.  How awesome is that?

It Is Not What You Know, But Who You Know

I have heard this saying many times in my life.  It seems ironically sad that, to my recollection, it has always been used in the context of personally getting ahead. I spend a considerable amount of time thinking about social issues both here in the United States, where I call home, as well as issues throughout the world.  My main thoughts are about the policies that governments could implement to bring justice to these issues.  While recently pondering governmental policies and social justice, out of nowhere, the saying popped into my head.  Suddenly I realized that this saying applies to more than getting ahead in the world--it also applies to social justice issues.  This forced me to acknowledge that, more often than not, I use my thinking on how government policy can affect change as an excuse to not be relational.  This is led me to think about some recent experiences and conversations.

My Friend Aziz

I met Aziz a little more than a year ago while participating in a dual narrative tour that his company Mejdi conducts in the Middle East.  Aziz is a peacemaker by trade and after spending a week with him I considered him to be a walking encyclopedia, or, to use the parlance of our times, a Wikipedia, for Israel /Palestine!  I imagined that Aziz probably read endlessly to gain this knowledge, and I admired that trait of his character.  It would not be until more than a year later that he told me that he really did not read that much.  I remember him saying that people are books and that he likes reading people rather than books.  In other words he spent all or most of his time in relationships and that is mostly how he learned the stuff he knew.  This was really convicting to me.  Until then, I never thought you could be incredibly knowledgeable about something without reading about it.  I am so much more comfortable sitting in a recliner with a book to learn about things rather than building relationships.

My Trip To New Jerusalem In Philadelphia

Since then, I have tried to take my conversation with Aziz to heart and step out and build relationships.  For the last year I have been a part of a small group with my church that focuses on social justice issues.  Having visited The Simple Way a year ago and really enjoying my experience, I decided to lead a trip there with our small group this year.  Describing the Simple Way could take an entire blog post all of its own, so I’ll just say that the Simple Way self-describes as “a web of subversive friends conspiring to spread the vision of 'Loving God, Loving People, and Following Jesus' in our neighborhoods and in our world.”  The highlight of that trip would be our last stop at New Jerusalem. 

New Jerusalem is a drug rehabilitation home that was started by a nun named Sister Margaret.  The entire program is based around community and relational living.  It was amazing to see the support that each recovering addict gave to each other as well as to hear the harrowing stories of how they got to where they are.  It was not difficult to see that it was because of who these addicts knew, not what they knew, along with the relationships of the staff with those recovering was the reason that New Jerusalem boasts a 60% recovery rate—nearly double that of most inpatient drug recovery facilities. 

Joseph’s House

For close to four months now my wife, Hélène, and I have been visiting and volunteering at Joseph's House in Washington DC.  Joseph’s House is a house that serves as a hospice for those dying of AIDS or other terminal illnesses who do not have another place to go.  We got connected to Joseph’s House through a program that our church calls Second Saturday Serve.  Every second Saturday our church has service projects where you can just show up and participate.  The person who had arranged for us to visit Joseph’s House was going to be out of town and asked if Hélène and I could lead this service opportunity.  We jumped in and since then have been blown away by the work being done at Joseph’s House.

This is another place that is entirely centered on relationships.  Our service project for Joseph’s House that first month was to help them clean their kitchen.  I still remember walking into the house and having an immediate sense of peace.  I also remember being excited to clean the kitchen, but also pretty terrified about meeting people with HIV.  While Patty, the executive director who also lives in the house with her husband, sat down with us to explain what we would be doing, that is not primarily what I remember.  I remember her telling us that we needed to be a part of the community there, that while we were there to work, it was not so much about the task at hand but experiencing community with those in the house and community within our group.  I also remember her sharing with us about Jose, a resident there, who was dying as we worked.  We found out the following day that he passed several hours after we left.

Some Final Thoughts

My friend Aziz has not succeeded in creating Peace in Israel/Palestine.  Forty percent of those who walk through the doors of New Jerusalem will not get clean.  Joseph’s House can only house 9 people in the U.S. city with the highest rate of HIV infection of any in the country! However, Aziz, Sister Margaret and the staff at New Jerusalem, and Patty and the staff at Joseph’s House are not pondering how government policies can affect change in areas of social justice.  Nor are they spending countless hours with their noses buried in books.  They are doing the dirty, uncomfortable work of building relationships to affect change.  Instead of pointing fingers at the problem they are trying to be part of the solution.  And frankly, to be a part of a solution requires a really close look at who you know.

What next?

I frequently talk with my pastor about the poor and my beliefs that our church is not doing enough in our city to address their plight.  By saying that our church does not do enough to address the condition of the poor in our city I indict myself since I am part of the church.  How can I know what to do for the poor, if my answer to the question, “Who do you know that is poor?” is, “Nobody”?

In the spirit of stepping out from behind the comfort of my books, I have committed to lead a “mission trip” in DC this coming spring.  I put quotes “mission trip” because all that we are going to be doing is spending 72 hours on DC streets as homeless people.  The thought of this is pretty terrifying for me, but I think there is no better way to understand someone than to take some steps in their shoes, which is so difficult and challenging. Instead, most of us, especially me, want to take the easy road of using what I know to accomplish tasks.  A have a friend named Jill who happens to be a social worker.  The following is a quote from an e-mail I recently received from her, “I have so many volunteers that want to stuff envelopes or paint houses but no one wants to actually just sit and talk to someone.”  Until recently, I was one of those people Jill describes so astutely.  But after meeting people like Aziz, Patty, or Sister Margaret, I am no longer content to sit home and read books and ponder intellectual solutions for the world’s problems.  I want to read people instead of books!